It’s just not an unrecognised pawnbroker who could cheat you while handing out a gold loan, but a recognised or even a national bank can dupe you while measuring your precious yellow metal. Faulty weighing scales are one of the primary reasons that cause consumers to lose gold, according to state legal metrology officials.
A total of 278 cases have been registered in the last one year against various banks and gold financiers for non-compliance of Weights and Measures Act and legal metrology (packaged and commodities) rules. A total of Rs 13,16,200 was collected as compounded fee from across the State. Though just 12 were being registered against various banks in the city, others were all from banks outside Hyderabad.
Every bank or gold financier, who provide loans, by mortgaging gold is required to assess the accurate weight of a gold ornament. Depending on the purity and deductions based on wastage and other related charges, an electronic or physical balance is used.
It is here where the banks go astray in assessing the weight. “Whenever a bank gives a gold loan, the weighing machines used are to be verified by us. But due to reasons known to them, the scales are not certified in time that causes the calibration to be changed where the scope is high for banks or gold financiers to go astray,” observed Vijay Sarathi, assistant controller, legal metrology department.
Explaining further, Bhaskar Reddy, assistant controller of legal metrology said: “Banks need to use a one-milligram accuracy electronic weighing scale but they use a 10 milligram accuracy scale which is a violation. A certification is to be obtained from the licensed manufacturer of the weighing scale,’’ he said.
This results in the consumer being cheated of 9 milligrams of gold every time gold is weighed on a particular scale. On several instances, even the consumers complained to the legal metrology department on doubts whether the scales are accurate.